What is the Leadership Academy for Supervisors?

The LAS is a free web-based leadership training for experienced child welfare supervisors. The core curriculum consists of six online modules each based on the NCWWI Leadership Model. The LAS provides 21 contact hours of self-directed online learning, with two tracks to enhance learning transfer: a personal learning plan to develop leadership skills and a change initiative project to contribute to a systems change within the agency All supervisors are welcome to complete the online LAS on their own time and at their own pace.

When implemented as an agency initiative, most agencies also provide alive face-to-face or-webinar discussion (Leadership Academy for Supervisors Learning Network or LASLN) after each module, where participants can network with facilitators and other learners to discuss and reinforce what has been covered in the previous module. This is not available in the individual self-directed program.

What is the benefit of the LAS?

For supervisors: The LAS is a free web-based training program for building leadership skills. It is based on the latest research and presented by national experts. The LAS is perfect for supervisors who want to be effective leaders in their current role or who are interested in preparing for advancement. It can also be an accessible way to attain required contact hours for training.

Hear what supervisors are saying about the LAS:

For agencies: The LAS provides a high quality, proven training experience in an accessible format, two thirds in a self-directed approach to meet supervisors’ busy schedules. It is an opportunity to develop a leadership pipeline in the agency, providing professional development, succession planning and contributing to the agency’s strategic priorities. In one state, 27% of recent LAS graduates have already been promoted!

How can I participate?

For Agencies: Some states or jurisdictions have elected to implement the LAS with cohorts of supervisors in what is called an Agency-Coordinated LAS. This approach has many advantages, such as focusing supervisors’ change initiatives on agency priorities, building an organizational culture based on a common leadership model, and the ability to facilitate local LASLN’s to reinforce learning. If you are interested in learning more about this approach and how it might work in your jurisdiction, send us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For Supervisors: If your state or agency is not implementing the LAS, but you would like to take the modules as a self-directed participant, the first three modules are already online and available; the remaining 3 modules will be posted between December and March, 2015. You can access the training by registering for a MyNCWWI account and then coming back to this page. Training links will be at the top of this page for registered users. If you’d like an email notice when the curriculum is available please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please note that LASLN’s are not available in the self-directed format.

If you’re interested in the Take the Lead Series, all four modules are available now for registered MyNCWWI users at the top of this page. Just create an account, log in and come back to this page to view the training links at the top.

For more information, please contact theLAS Teamat the Muskie School for Public Service, University of Southern Maine: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The NCWWI is operated by the University at Albany School of Social Welfare and is made possible by grant number 90CT7002 from the Children's Bureau. The contents of this website are solely the responsibility of the NCWWI and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Children’s Bureau, ACYF, ACF, or HHS.